A whole-island census of the Manx Shearwaters Puffinus puffinus breeding on Skomer Island in 2011.

Skomer Island, Pembrokeshire, Wales is believed to have one of the largest colonies of Manx Shearwaters Puffinus puffinus in the World. In 1998 a census was made of the whole island, and the adjacent islands of Skokholm and Middleholm, in order to try to establish the size of the breeding population; the Skomer population was estimated to be just over 101,000 breeding pairs. A second census was carried out in 2011. First, a set of study burrows was opened and a tape of the male call (normally only males respond to these) was played down each burrow several times during the course of incubation in order to establish the male response rate. Then the same tape was played down all the burrows in each of 288 randomly selected plots across the island and the number of responses recorded. Extrapolating responses from census plots to the whole island yielded an estimate of 125,112 (CI ± 16,445) responses. Adjusting this figure to take account of the response rate yielded an estimate of 316,070 (SE ± 41,767) breeding pairs. This figure is greatly in excess of the estimate made just 13 years earlier. Possible reasons for this are discussed

On the Implementation of a Land Cover Classification System for SAR Images Using Khoros

The Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR) sensor is widely used to record data about the ground under all atmospheric conditions. The SAR acquired images have very good resolution which necessitates the development of a classification system that process the SAR images to extract useful information for different applications. In this work, a complete system for the land cover classification was designed and programmed using the Khoros, a data flow visual language environment, taking full advantages of the polymorphic data services that it provides. Image analysis was applied to SAR images to improve and automate the processes of recognition and classification of the different regions like mountains and lakes. Both unsupervised and supervised classification utilities were used. The unsupervised classification routines included the use of several Classification/Clustering algorithms like the K-means, ISO2, Weighted Minimum Distance, and the Localized Receptive Field (LRF) training/classifier. Different texture analysis approaches such as Invariant Moments, Fractal Dimension and Second Order statistics were implemented for supervised classification of the images. The results and conclusions for SAR image classification using the various unsupervised and supervised procedures are presented based on their accuracy and performance

High prevalence and seasonal persistence of amphibian chytrid fungus infections in the desert-dwelling Amargosa toad, Anaxyrus nelsoni

Hot summer conditions in the Mojave Desert of southern Nevada, USA, would not appear to favor the amphibian chytrid fungus Batrachochytrium dendrobatidis (Bd), which has a thermal limit around 28° C. Within this region, however, we detected Bd in an amphibian of conservation concern, the Amargosa Toad (Anaxyrus nelsoni). We assessed Bd prevalence and infection intensity (Bd load) across spring and summer in A. nelsoni at two sites over two years, and in the sympatric American Bullfrog, Lithobates catesbeianus, at one site during one year. We observed high overall Bd prevalence in both A. nelsoni (48%) and L. catesbeianus (74%), with Bd loads in A. nelsoni reaching 404,000 copies of ribosomal RNA internal transcribed spacer 1 (ITS 1 copy number; CN). Prevalence remained high in midsummer when air temperatures during sampling were 23.7–32.5° C and daily highs reached 36.1–37.8° C. We observed trends toward lower Bd prevalence in A. nelsoni during late summer, but even then infection prevalence was at least 26%, with Bd loads reaching 69,100 CN. The high levels of infection during summer months may be explained by the actual conditions experienced by these amphibians. Water temperatures associated with captures (13.2–27.8° C) and body temperatures of A. nelsoni (11.1–26.6° C) remained predominately favorable to Bd throughout summer sampling periods. The mostly nocturnal behavior of A. nelsoni also likely limited temperature extremes. Recapture data showed that A. nelsoni can clear Bd infection, and we observed no individuals with obvious symptoms of disease, indicating potential resistance to, or tolerance of, the pathogen in this species

European Society of Hypertension guidelines for blood pressure monitoring at home: a summary report of the Second International Consensus Conference on Home Blood Pressure Monitoring.

This document summarizes the available evidence and provides recommendations on the use of home blood pressure monitoring in clinical practice and in research. It updates the previous recommendations on the same topic issued in year 2000. The main topics addressed include the methodology of home blood pressure monitoring, its diagnostic and therapeutic thresholds, its clinical applications in hypertension, with specific reference to special populations, and its applications in research. The final section deals with the problems related to the implementation of these recommendations in clinical practice

European Society of Hypertension guidelines for blood pressure monitoring at home: a summary report of the second international consensus conference on home blood pressure monitoring

This document summarizes the available evidence and provides recommendations on the use of home blood pressure monitoring in clinical practice and in research. It updates the previous recommendations on the same topic issued in year 2000. The main topics addressed include the methodology of home blood pressure monitoring, its diagnostic and therapeutic thresholds, its clinical applications in hypertension, with specific reference to special populations, and its applications in research. The final section deals with the problems related to the implementation of these recommendations in clinical practice.status: publishe

European Society of Hypertension Practice Guidelines for home blood pressure monitoring

Self-monitoring of blood pressure by patients at home (home blood pressure monitoring (HBPM)) is being increasingly used in many countries and is well accepted by hypertensive patients. Current hypertension guidelines have endorsed the use of HBPM in clinical practice as a useful adjunct to conventional office measurements. Recently, a detailed consensus document on HBPM was published by the European Society of Hypertension Working Group on Blood Pressure Monitoring. However, in daily practice, briefer documents summarizing the essential recommendations are needed. It is also accepted that the successful implementation of clinical guidelines in routine patient care is dependent on their acceptance by involvement of practising physicians. The present document, which provides concise and updated guidelines on the use of HBPM for practising physicians, was therefore prepared by including the comments and feedback of general practitioners.Journal of Human Hypertension advance online publication, 3 June 2010; doi:10.1038/jhh.2010.54.status: publishe